The Search
by Fireheart1207
Summary: An action/adventure take on Nala's search for help with a slightly darker tone.
1. Sprint

**Of course this isn't Survival, nor even Warriors, but I feel like it's getting a bit stale. This isn't truly what my viewers want and I know that. However, I want something new and this is my priority story; that said I hope the passion I have for this story comes through in the writing unlike the other one.**

 **P.S. Disclaimers: I don't own Lion King. Y'know, it's kinda strange that disclaimers are needed on a site dedicated to fanfiction.**

The moon hung high in the sky over Pride Rock. Normally, this time would be silent and motionless, with the odd watch or meerkat scuffling about. A hyena sat on the fringe of the rock, scanning the horizon carefully. A young lioness crept through the field of scattered stones at the foot of the great monolith, closely monitoring the hyena. The watch traced shapes on the rock and muttered dejectedly, and lioness sprinted into a tuft of spiky grass on the edge of the mineral field and began picking her way through more of the grass deliberately. As the titanic tower of Pride Rock became smaller and smaller with every passing moment, the lioness picked up her pace to a trot and then a sprint once more. In the dead of night, Nala slipped away from the clutches of the crazy king and began a wild, desperate search for help to lead a revolt.

Nala kept her pace high, running on sheer adrenaline. Her mission was all or nothing; and failure meant near certain doom for the pride. She left without a plan and relied more on instinct to this point of her journey. The edge of the territory seemed so far; much less anything beyond it, but Nala had no other choice. Her adrenaline high began to melt away as quickly as the stone giant standing at guard behind. She nearly collapsed in exhaustion as the last of her heightened existence flecked off and faded into nothingness. Nala slowed to a crisp jaunt as her fatigue piled on with each passing moment, seemingly dragging her pelt down with stones. She'd barely made it halfway to the end of the Pride Lands, yet already Nala was struggling. An out of place sound drifting on the wind caught her attention: hyenas. An entire pack of the king's henchmen were tracking down the lioness vigilante, and they weren't too far away.

The thunderous rumbling of the pack drew ever nearer as Nala began to panic. _I can't outrun them; I evidently can't hide, either. Climbing a tree is a bad idea…_ She wildly surveyed her surroundings looking for an answer _Fight them? Maybe, if I wasn't so tired._ _Looks like my best option is to climb a tree and just see how lucky I can be_. She bounded over to the nearest tree and scrabbled up it desperately. The grass swayed heavily, indicating the ravenous canines' movements. Nala shrunk back against the trunk of her refuge as much as she could. The first hyena broke through the grass, immediately followed by maybe thirty more. _Scar_ really _doesn't want me gone_. "The trail ends here," remarked one to the leader. "Then spread out and find her. We can't allow her to leave," came the swift and harsh reply. Roughly twenty of them split off and started tracking her down. One of the remaining ten froze stiffly and narrowed his eyes. He cautiously crept toward Nala. "Over here. Trail ends right here." The leader of the party stared down the roots of the tree presented before him. "She's in the trees! Everyone, surround it!" barked the alpha canine. Nala could only watch in horror as every avenue of escape she had available became sealed.

"Listen, girl. We're all tired. Just make this easy on us and we'll let you live." _I seriously doubt that._ The hyenas that had fanned out heard the call and were shuffling into sight en masse. "Hyenas aren't meant for climbing, girl. But we can sit here and do this all day. Is that what you'd prefer?" Nala barely even heard. She was trying to come up a solution for the dire straits that had befallen her. Crouching on a low-hanging branch with a legion of dogs ready to snap at you with the slightest movement wasn't the best situation she had ever been in. _This branch is horrendously unstable._ A tame jubilance overcame Nala as she formulated a plan all at once. High risk with an even higher reward: freedom. She stood, careful to balance perfectly, and kicked her hind legs hard as she could. The branch collapsed a forced the sea of canines to part in an attempt to dodge the falling wood. Nala dug her claws into the bark and rocketed off, tearing away from the pack. From here, it was an endurance race to see who could run further: lioness, or hyena.

 **Again, certainly not Survival but the best I could put forth. It is purely coincidental than my two main stories regard surviving an unknown landscape.**

 **This was inspired by another story, but I cannot for the life of me find it. The first chapter was, not the whole thing.**

 **As evidenced by Gift and Survival, I'm just not great at writing Chapter Ones. My intros tend to be short, and I apologize for that. Hopefully this is the most thorough Chapter One I thrust before you, or at least that was my goal.**


	2. Wastelands

**Chapter Two! Thank you guys for reading, this proved to be quite popular. Can't say I have anything more, so without further ado, The Search continues.**

The grass quickly became as sparse and rare as breath was while Nala continued to pump her legs, one in front of the other in a full sprint. Reality became blurred when she hit her stride and the ground and rabid dogs snapping behind Nala began to disappear in a cloud of dust. When she chanced a glance over her shoulder she saw the hyenas melting into a blur of scenery and colors, giving up their pursuit. Nala didn't slow so much as collapse mid-stride and just fall to the ground rolling and panting. She surrendered consciousness right there, not moving to cover or bedding.

The young lioness opened her eyes to find a beating sun boring down on her fur. _The Outlands…_ A brutally unforgiving landscape unfolded in front of her, nothing but gray rock and the torrential sun. _Well aren't we off to a great start._ Nala found herself fatigued, but luckily not debilitating enough to prevent her from carrying on. She stood and stretched, taking in the bland scenery before her, and began moving at a slower pace westward. _Food's going to be scarce. No wonder there's nobody living here. No ready water, either. How fun._ Nala kept herself keen and alert, watching for the slightest sign of danger. An aggressive heat soaked into her very core, her pelt becoming a blanket of unbearable temperature. _The sheer dryness of the air here means I need water, and a lot of it, soon._ The pads on the bottom of her feet stung from the burn of the rocks underneath with each passing moment. _I_ _might as well get moving._ Nala tentatively placed one foot out in front of her, and yanked it back instantly when the skin of her paw was seared by the ground. _Looks like I have a problem already._ The lioness paused to figure out a way into the Outlands. _I'll have to travel at night exclusively._ She hopped over to a piece of sparse shrubbery to lie down and wait.

The seconds dragged on at a snail's pace while Nala inspected the rugged terrain behind her for any sign of a hyena. Midday had brought on the peak of the warmth, and now the giant source of heat began to retreat down behind the piles of gray rock and rubble. As the sky turned from blue to orange the lithe lioness slid from beneath her shrubbery and carefully tested the ground. A more bearable but no less viscous pain greeted her pad to the rock. Heat emanated from the minerals underfoot while the sky turned from orange to black. Nala crisply trotted to the edge of a raised plateau and looked out onto the expansive wastes. Numerous caves and geysers jutted out of the plains of unforgiving stone unfolding before her eyes. Hazardous terrain was the least of the journeyer's worries when a faint thunder rolled behind the horizon.

 _Rain! What good luck, I can get water that way._ Horror washed over her as Nala slowly began to realize that the thunder was coming closer. It started to sound more artificial with each moment. A head crested the mountain of boulders sitting behind the lioness. A _hyena_ head. Soon scores of canine silhouettes lined the sky as more still poured over the outcropping and tried to encircle the lioness. A familiar scarred face stepped forward aggressively. Realizing the severity of the situation, and knowing that her attackers had started to surround her, Nala didn't wait for the pack leader's words and rather turned tail and shot away at full speed. She managed to get through the hyena blockade just before it completely closed and trapped her in. She could hear the cries to give chase seemingly right next to her, and the terrifying sound of dozens of paws pelting after her in tight pursuit. _I need another crafty solution fast to get away!_ There was no time to think in this predicament. Nala edged on panic in a desperate attempt to figure out getaway plans. _Right in front of me, of course!_ A minefield of acidic geysers presented itself to the lioness. Caves dotted the landscape parallel to them, providing a good avenue of escape to hide, or she could simply risk everything and hope the acids did all the work for her. Already at full gait, Nala decided to just sprint through the minefield and not slow down. She didn't dare to look behind her, but dodging and weaving in and out of the explosive water spouts she could faintly hear yelps from her pursuers. Steam began to release itself from the rock dead ahead of Nala, and the world entered a slower state. The lioness deftly sidestepped another pressured jet and rounded a corner, paws scrabbling and scratching for grip on the stone. Chancing a look over her shoulder, satisfaction and relief flooded Nala as the hyenas stopped and picked their way out of geyser field away from their prey. Fueled by adrenaline, Nala kept her pace brisk as she trotted along the cooling rock. Pillars of smoke showed on the moonlit horizon, and pools of lava gave off their own light in a sinister glow. The young lion struggled to process the scene in front of her, a terrible and unforgiving wasteland far worse than she had imagined. The most Nala could hope to find for food would be the odd mouse, and absolutely no water source whatsoever could be found. A true challenge awaited her.

 **I must admit, not my best work, but the best I could put forth at the moment. Unfortunately for me, I chose inadvertently to write by far the best piece I have and probably ever will in Chapter 1 a.k.a. Sprint, so apologies if this seems lackluster coming off that peak. This one was for you, Lurker.**


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